Judge refuses to grant bail for North Bergen Internet radio host

NEWARK -- Hal Turner, the bombastic on-line commentator from Hudson County, was ordered held without bail again today on charges of threatening to murder federal judges who upheld handgun bans in Illinois.

The 47-year-old blogger and ex-Internet radio host sat uncharacteristically silent as a federal judge in Newark ruled for the second time in six days that he should remain incarcerated and shipped to Chicago to face prosecution.

AP Photo/Jessica HillNorth Bergen blogger Hal Turner leaves Hartford Superior Court in Hartford, Conn. on June 22 after he was arraigned on charges of inciting violence against state lawmakers.

"I think he is a danger to the community," Magistrate Judge Michael A. Shipp said.

Turner has long been accused of being anti-immigrant, anti-Semitic and anti-government and often pushes the bounds of free speech. But authorities say he crossed a line earlier this month by writing that three appellate court judges should be killed for ruling against lawsuits challenging handgun bans in Chicago and suburban Oak Park.

"These judges deserve to be killed," Turner wrote on his blog, according to a complaint filed by federal prosecutors in Chicago. He also published photographs of the judges and a map showing the courthouse where they work, authorities said.

Three weeks later, on June 24, FBI agents arrested him at his home in North Bergen, where they found several firearms, authorities said. He is charged with threatening to assault or murder federal judges and faces up to 10 years in prison.

Earlier last month, Turner was charged with an unrelated crime in Connecticut. Authorities say he urged his blog readers to "take up arms" against two state lawmakers who supported a bill to give lay members of Roman Catholic churches more control over parish finances. That charge carries a maximum 10-year penalty, too.

During today's hearing, the one-time congressional candidate and ex-Marine sat unshaven and shackled, wearing yellow jail-issue coveralls. His lawyer, Michael A. Orozco, said the commentator's words were protected by the First Amendment.

The attorney conceded his client danced along a thin line. But saying judges deserved to die is different than calling for their assassinations, the lawyer said.

During his first bail hearing, on June 25, prosecutors said they would not protest if Turner were placed under house arrest with limited radio and computer access. Shipp, however, said he feared the defendant posed a threat and ordered him to remain in custody until today's hearing.

Then, on the day after the bail hearing, authorities say Turner recorded a message at Essex County Jail, asking supporters for money to keep his website afloat. He also broadcast the names of three FBI agents likely to testify at his trial, prompting prosecutors to change their stance on Turner's bail and argue he was too dangerous to be released, said L. Judson Welle, an assistant U.S. attorney.

As part of his argument, Welle quoted Turner's June 17 blog entry in which he supposedly accused sheriff's officers in Connecticut of mistreating him. He also issued a veiled threat, Welle said.

"Everybody can be gotten to. John F. Kennedy proved that. ... What are a few lives in the grand scheme of liberty?" Turner wrote, according to Welle.